Games of Deception: The True Story of the First U.S. Olympic Basketball Team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany

Author: Andrew Maraniss

The year 1936 was a turbulent time in world history. Adolf Hitler had gained power in Germany three years earlier. Jewish people and political opponents of the Nazis were the targets of vicious mistreatment, yet were unaware of the horrors that awaited them in the coming years. But the Olympians on board the SS Manhattan and other international visitors wouldn't see any signs of trouble in Berlin. Streets were swept, storefronts were painted, and every German citizen greeted them with a smile. Like a movie set, it was all just a facade, meant to distract from the terrible things happening behind the scenes.

This is the incredible true story of basketball, including its invention by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, the sport's Olympic debut in Berlin, and the eclectic mix of people, events, and propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic that made it all possible. 

Reading Grades (7–9)

Young Adult Non-Fiction

Paperback

256 pages